Food and Environmental Protection

The Food and Environmental Protection Section of the Joint Programme and its associated Food and Environmental Protection Laboratory of the FAO/IAEA Agricultural and Biotechnology
Laboratory in Seibersdorf provide assistance and support to countries in their efforts to ensure the safety and quality of food and agricultural commodities and food security while at the same time facilitating international
trade. Our activities primarily focus on strengthening Member State capacities for the application of international standards on irradiation as well as on the use of nuclear and related analytical technologies
and capacity building in the control of food and environmental hazards as well as food traceability and authenticity. These efforts are based on a coordinated and comprehensive “farm to fork” approach to food production systems that ensure the
application of good agricultural practices throughout the food chain.

Highlights

Contributing to Strengthening Food Safety: IAEA Commemorates World Health Day.
Contamination hazards in the agricultural food chain can stem from a range of sources including residues of agrochemicals, and natural toxins. The economic impact of food contamination and fraud is significant,
and food fraud alone is estimated to cost billions of US dollars each year, affecting up 10 percent of food products sold.
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Food safety laboratories - As the food supply chain globalizes.
What began in 2006 as a network of 49 food safety laboratories in Latin America and the Caribbean has now expanded to include representatives from 19 countries
in the region with many more expected in the future. The initial network was made up of analytical laboratories and supported by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. It focused on addressing
contamination problems and determining ways to improve environmental and food safety that had regional applicability as well as health, trade and economic benefits.
Read More »

Indonesia: Irradiation - a matter of food safety.
In February 2014, a landslide swept away a remote Indonesian village in West Java, displacing more than 2 000 villagers. At the time, Indonesia’s National Nuclear
Energy Agency was participating in a Joint FAO/IAEA Division project that was using food irradiation to develop safe hospital food and emergency rations. When the project staff members learned of
the landslide, they decided to use the technique to package safe rations for distribution at the emergency shelter. The staff was determined to give the shelter residents more than just the calories and nutrients
they needed: the goal was to give them food that would make them feel good. Read More »

Viet Nam: Preventing insects from hitch-hiking to new pastures.
From very modest beginnings of around 100 tonnes in 2008, Viet Nam increased its dragonfruit exports to the US to 1,300 tonnes in 2013, an increase made possible because the fruit went through an
irradiation process to keep insect pests from stowing away in the shipment, allowing it to be certified as irradiated, which enabled it to pass strict US import regulations.
Read More »

Just the Right Amount: Using Dosimetry to Measure Absorbed Radiation.
Photo Essay: Modern life just wouldn’t be the same without firm and ripe imported fruits, frozen pizza or überclean medical tools. All thanks to dosimetry!
View Photo Essay »

These activities are undertaken in four main areas, namely, coordination and support in research, providing technical and advisory services, providing laboratory support and training and collecting,
analyzing and disseminating information. Our activities are implemented through Coordinated Research Projects, Technical Cooperation Projects,
Meetings and Training Courses, eLearning courses, and Publications.